CONSTITUTION OF THE WEST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE ACADEMIC SENATE PREAMBLE As authorized under Title 5 of the California Administrative Code Section 53201 (Subchapter A), we, the members of the faculty of West Los Angeles College, are uniting to form the West Los Angeles College Academic Senate. We are inspired by a common desire to assist in vigorously promoting the quality of community college education by whatever words and actions that is appropriate and necessary. We also believe that the Academic Senate is essential for realizing the fullest educational and professional potential of each member of the faculty, and for furthering the aims and goals of West Los Angeles College. Towards these endeavors, we pledge our mutual support and cooperation. ARTICLE I NAME AND PURPOSE Section 1. Name: The name of this organization shall be the West Los Angeles College Academic Senate. Section 2. Purpose: The purpose of the senate shall be: 2.1 To provide a means of expression of opinion for the faculty. 2.2 To uphold the principles of professional ethics. 2.3 To provide a liaison between faculty and students. 2.4 To provide liaisons among faculty members 2.5 To foster a sharing of responsibility between faculty and administration. 2.6 To make possible the democratic cooperation and participation of all members in matters pertaining to the general welfare of West Los Angeles College, such as: a. Curriculum including establishing prerequisites and placing courses within disciplines b. Degree and certificate requirements c. Grading policies d. Educational program development e. Standards and policies regarding student preparation and success f. District and college governance structures, as related to faculty roles g. Policies for faculty professional development activities h. Processes for program review i. Processes for institutional planning and budget development j. Other academic and professional matters as are mutually agreed upon between the governing board and the academic senate ARTICLE II MEMBERSHIP Section 1. Membership: Membership shall consist of all full-time faculty members at WLAC. Fulltime faculty include permanent, probationary, temporary, contract, long-term substitutes, child development center, counselors, librarians, and consulting instructors, or comparable positions as approved by the Academic Senate. Faculty means regular certificated and/or contract persons who teach full-time, certificated persons who do not perform any college services that require an administrative or supervisory credential. Membership shall not be contingent upon payment of dues or assessments. Section 2. Full-time faculty shall have voting rights and privileges. Section 3. Part-time faculty may select two representatives who shall serve in the Academic Senate and be granted full voting rights and privileges. The remaining part-time faculty shall be non-voting members of the Senate. 1
ARTICLE III OFFICERS, REPRESENTATIVES, AND ELECTIONS Section 1. Officers: The officers of the senate shall be President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Immediate Past President.. The officers of the senate shall also serve as the officers of the West Los Angeles College Academic Senate Executive Committee. Section 2. Representatives: The senate will be represented at the District Academic Senate (DAS) by the number of senators determined by the DAS. Section 3. Nominations: The senate president shall appoint a 3-member Election Committee at least 60 days before the end of the spring semester. The committee shall make a list of consenting nominees for office and circulate this list to each faculty member by means of faculty mail boxes at least 6 school days before election day. Any additions that any member wants to make to this list must be made to the Election Committee within 3 school days of the circulating of the original list. A sample ballot will be distributed at least 3 school days before the day of election. Section 4. Elections: Elections shall be held at times specified in the By-Laws. Election of officers and senators (except Division Senators, who shall be selected by the Faculty in their respective division) shall be by secret ballot, which shall include the names of all candidates who have not notified the secretary of their desire to withdraw their names. Provisions shall be made for write-in candidates. The winner of each office shall be determined by the candidate gaining a majority of the votes cast, i.e., greater than 50%. In case of no majority, a runoff election between the two highest candidates is to be held within one week of the general election. Ballots shall be distributed to all full-time faculty members through the use of two envelopes. The outside envelope will identify the eligible voter while the inside envelope will contain the ballot. No person shall run for more than one office in any single election. Section 5. The Election Committee shall determine the results of the election and report to the Senate by means of posting, or circulating through faculty mailboxes within one school day after any election. The Senate shall certify the election results at the next regular Senate meeting. The report of the Senate Election Committee shall be considered final when so certified by the Senate. In the event a regular Senate meeting is not scheduled within two weeks of the announcement of the election results, a special Senate meeting shall be called. Section 6. Vacancies: If the Senate should declare the office of President to be vacant, the vice president shall assume the office of president. Vacancies in the other senate offices, i.e., vice president, secretary or treasurer, shall be filled by special elections arranged by the Senate Election Committee to be held within 10 school days of the vacancy. Vacancies in the Academic Senate, i.e., Senators to the District Academic Senate, and Senator-at-Large, may be filled by presidential appointment with Academic Senate approval for the unexpired term. Vacancies on committees may be filled by presidential appointment with Academic Senate approval for the unexpired term. Any officer or representative who is unable to serve shall inform the president of the senate in writing and a vacancy shall then be declared to exist. The procedure for replacement is provided for above. The matter of excessive absences will be covered in the By-Laws. Section 7. Terms of Office: Senate officers and Senators shall serve 2-year terms. The terms for Senators shall be staggered so that the terms of only half of the Senators will expire each year. Section 8. Duties of Officers and Senators: The President shall act as the chief administrative officer of the senate, shall preside over all senate and Academic Senate meetings, and shall appoint with senate approval all standing and ad hoc committees. The president shall be ex officio, a member of all committees and shall serve as a representative to the District Academic Senate. The Vice-President shall, in the absence of the president, assume the duties of the president. The Vice-President shall also chair the Educational Policies and Standards Committee and the Academic Rank Committee and serve on College Council and Academic Senate Executive Committee. The Secretary shall-prepare and distribute minutes and handouts of Senate meetings in a timely manner; maintain senate website; compile senate actions; track faculty committee memberships; 2
help chairs maintain the records of senate committees; and serve on Academic Senate Executive Committee. The Treasurer shall maintain all fiscal accounts, collects faculty dues, and coordinates the senate scholarship committee, work with the professional development committee and senate hospitality activities, and serve on the Academic Senate Executive Committee. Section 9. Recall: (1) Any officer or Senator of the senate may be recalled by a majority vote of the senate taken by secret ballot. Majority vote is defined as greater than 50% of the entire Senate. (2) A recall vote must be taken if demanded by a majority vote taken at a special meeting of the Faculty Senate, or by a petition signed by 40 percent of the entire Senate members, or by a petition signed by 75% of the members of the Academic Senate. (3) The recall voting must be arranged for by the Election Committee as soon as possible, but no sooner than one week, the presenting of the demand to the senate president. ARTICLE IV COMMITTEES Section 1. Standing committees: This senate shall establish, as provided in the By-Laws, standing committees as are deemed necessary to carry out the objectives of the organization. Section 2. Ad hoc committees: The president with the consent of the Academic Senate may establish or abolish ad hoc committees of this senate. ARTICLE V MEETINGS Section 1. Meetings: The senate shall meet at times called by the President, and no less than once a month. Section 2. Special Meetings: Special meetings may be called by the president or by petition of 20 percent of the membership requesting such a meeting. The president must call such a meeting within one week from the date of submission of the petition. An agenda must be circulated not less than 72 hours prior to the meeting. Section 3. Quorum: At all meetings a quorum shall be determined by the Robert s Rules of Order. If there is no quorum, those faculty members present shall be permitted to accept or reject the minutes and to declare themselves an Ad Hoc Committee and to discuss the published agenda. ARTICLE VI DUES Dues: Membership dues shall be assessed annually and are voluntary. The amount of the dues is to be determined by the Senate and included in the By-Laws. ARTICLE VII INITIAVE, REFERENDUM, AMENDMENT Section 1. Any member of the WLAC Faculty Senate may initiate an amendment to the senate constitution or senate charter, and may initiate other proposals according to the following procedures: 1. Circulate a petition stating the exact amendments or proposal and date at which a special election should be called. (If no date is stated, the proposition will appear on the next general election ballot.) 2. Obtain the signatures of 25 percent of the Senate members on the above petition. 3. Submit the completed petition to the senate president or the chairman of the election committee. 4. Or, instead of procedure 1-3 above, the Senate member may bring, in writing, to a Senate meeting the amendment or proposal for consideration. If approved, this amendment or proposal shall then substitute for procedures 1-3 above. 3
5. The Election Committee shall distribute a copy of the proposition to each Senate member at least 10 school days before Election Day. 6. The senate president shall convene the members for hearings on the proposition during the 10 school days before Election Day. 7. Election shall be by secret ballot. 8. Amendments to the constitution and charter shall be approved by a majority of the membership of the Senate. 9. Other propositions shall be approved by a majority of those voting. Section 2. The Academic Senate may refer amendments to the Constitution of the Senate or to the Charter of the Academic Senate, and may also refer other proposals, to a vote of the faculty according to the following procedures: 1. Recommend passage of the proposition by majority vote of the senate. 2. Instruct the Election Committee to place the proposition on the next general election ballot or to call a special election. 3. The Election Committee shall distribute copies of the proposition to all members of the Senate at least 10 school days before Election Day. 4. The Academic Senate shall hold at least one hearing (open to the entire faculty) on each referendum during the last 10 school days before Election Day. 5. Election shall be by secret ballot. 6. Constitutional and charter amendments shall be approved by a majority vote of the membership of the Senate. A majority vote is defined as more than 50% of the entire senate. 7. Other propositions shall be approved by a majority of those voting. Article VIII Section III: Membership The Academic Senate shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Immediate Past President of the Senate, Senators to the District Senate, Senators-at-large, Divisional Senators, and two Senators from the Adjunct Faculty. A faculty member may only hold one office at any given time. a) Two representatives from the part time faculty (instructors teaching less than.5 of a full time assignment) shall be selected to serve as voting members in the Academic Senate. b) Each Academic Division shall elect one faculty member from the division to serve as a senator. c) The Resources Division shall elect one faculty member from its collective areas to serve as a senator. The Resources Division includes Child Care Center faculty, DSP&S faculty, and other certificated personnel performing non-teaching duties which do not require an administrative or supervisory credential. d) The immediate past president of the Academic Senate shall serve as a Senator, provided such individual is a member of the Senate. The immediate past president shall be defined as the most recent president to serve a full term prior to the current president. Section IV: Meetings a) The time and place of the Academic Senate meetings shall be determined at the first meeting of the academic year. This regular meeting schedule shall be published and distributed to all interested parties. b) Special meetings, when warranted, shall be called by the President and/or the Vice President. c) A special meeting shall be called upon written petition of 20% of the members of the Senate, or 20% of the membership of the WLAC faculty. d) A quorum shall consist of 50 percent of the total membership. Proxy voting will not be permitted. If a motion carries with less than 50% of the total Senate membership voting in favor of it, upon the demand of any Senator, the motion must be reconsidered at the next regular Senate meeting. Only one reconsideration shall be allowed for a specific motion. (Charter, Article V, Section 2) e) Except for meetings concerned with the ethics and professional conduct of certificated personnel, all Senate meetings shall be open to the membership of the Senate. Senate members shall have the right to speak, to serve on committees, and to make motions at Senate meetings. Such motions shall become Senate business when moved by the Senate member and seconded by an Academic Senate member. (Charter, Article V, Section 3) 4
f) The parliamentary authority shall be by Robert s Rules of Order, revised. ARTICLE IX Rules of Order and By-Laws Section 1. Robert s Rules of Order shall apply until rules of order are adopted by the senate. The Senate has the authority to suspend or modify Robert s Rules of Order to facilitate the conduct of Senate business. Section 2. By-Laws shall be established by the senate. Existing By-Laws which do not conflict with the constitution or charter shall remain in effect until amended and/or deleted. By-Laws may be amended, deleted, and /or expanded by the Academic Senate. ARTICLE X Adoption of this Constitution and Procedures for Implementation Section 1. Adoption This Constitution shall be adopted and become effective when approved by majority of Senate members. The voting shall be by secret ballot at a time and place determined by the Election Committee of the present Academic Senate. 5